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"Charging the Battery"

Hi All, today i had to replace the battery in my Mk6 after 2 years and 3 weeks. The RACQ guy recommended going forward to put the battery on a charger every 6 months, (this car does mostly small trips). So I get home and decide to put my GTI on a battery charger, however the owners manual (page 277) states " The vehicle battery should be charged by a qualified workshop, as the technology used in factory-fitted batteries requires voltage limited charging.Volkswagen recommends using a VW dealership for this purpose".

Is this good advice or just a ruse to send me to the dealership ? thoughts? thanks

Hi All, today i had to replace the battery in my Mk6 after 2 years and 3 weeks. The RACQ guy recommended going forward to put the battery on a charger every 6 months, (this car does mostly small trips). So I get home and decide to put my GTI on a battery charger, however the owners manual (page 277) states " The vehicle battery should be charged by a qualified workshop, as the technology used in factory-fitted batteries requires voltage limited charging.Volkswagen recommends using a VW dealership for this purpose".

Is this good advice or just a ruse to send me to the dealership ? thoughts? thanks

James - there was a time when it was acceptable to hook-up a lead-acid battery to a simple step-down transformer with a diode (or two) connected to the secondary winding. But that was long ago - today's batteries are far more complex and cars that have Start Stop require special technologies for Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB) and Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries .

In these new batteries, the charging profile is very important and when the "break-points" of 2.45 V/cell and 2.3 V/cell are reached, the electrical current needs to change in a very specific way. In this sense, charging modern lead-acid batteries is very similar to charging Lithium-ion batteries because the charging profile of the external device must be informed by the cell voltage and it must change the current being forced into the battery.

The other confounder when charging batteries with cars that have Start Stop (like your mk7 - I assume)
is that it's NOT OK to simply connect the positive/negative charger leads across the battery (like in the good-old-days). Cars with SS have a device called a battery monitor control module that sits on the negative battery clamp which must be "in-circuit" during the charging cycle. Connecting the negative charger lead directly to the negative battery post by-passes this module. So always connect the negative lead to the car body, or to the special post that is connected to the car body.

But would I have my friendly dealer charge the battery on my car - likely at a cost to you approaching the annual budget of a small African nation? NO!!

If you are concerned about battery capacity - just buy yourself a charger that is specifically designed for the battery in your car and connect it properly. If you do this, then you will be doing the very same thing as the apprentice mechanic (or more likely the guy who washes cars) at the dealership who likely will be given the menial task of charging your battery!

I have my battery on a trickle charger as it sits in the garage a lot, have had no issues doing this and the battery is always fully charged, connected to the neutral and positive posts on the battery.

Hi All, today i had to replace the battery in my Mk6 after 2 years and 3 weeks. The RACQ guy recommended going forward to put the battery on a charger every 6 months, (this car does mostly small trips). So I get home and decide to put my GTI on a battery charger, however the owners manual (page 277) states " The vehicle battery should be charged by a qualified workshop, as the technology used in factory-fitted batteries requires voltage limited charging.Volkswagen recommends using a VW dealership for this purpose".

Is this good advice or just a ruse to send me to the dealership ? thoughts? thanks

You could always discuss with your dealer?

But really, I'd be doing what the RACQ recommends. Sounds like sensible advice for a short run vehicle. You should be getting 5+ years out of one of these batteries. My dealer does a cell test at each service. Still OK and I have a December 2012 MK VII. But battery life does vary battery to battery, brand to brand...

What a pile of absolute bullshit. Need the dealer to charge the car. For god sake what next.
I am an electronics engineer. Batteries like all things these days can benefit from technology. Like one of the previous posts said get a CTEK charger and attach whenever you not driving for a few days. I rarely drove my golf and the battery was always on the CTEK it is still perfect 7 years later.

If you buy any expensive car. Lotus, Jag, Bentley, Rolls. they come supplied with a CTEK charger.